Under its founding director, Minor White, the CPL became one of the country’s important venues for new photography, exhibiting the work of more than 600 photographers, while offering lectures and other programs, including a training center for aspiring photographers in Roxbury.

White’s vision for CPL was as a laboratory for teaching, not for training professional photographers. Photography served as a vehicle to intensify the students’ sensitivity to their visual environment, interpersonal relationships, and inner being.

Through photography, video interviews with former students and faculty, manuscript letters, and other records, discover the innovations and far-reaching influence of this unconventional curriculum and the photographer and educator behind it.

Please note that October 1, 2023 will be the final day to view this exhibition.